Parallels, the hosting and cloud services enablement leader, today
released the latest updates of Parallels SMB Cloud Insights, its series
of research that profiles the cloud buying behavior of small and medium
businesses (SMBs), the fastest growing segment for cloud services. The
survey results continues to confirm why Parallels – and service
providers – should remain laser-beam focused on meeting the demand for
SMB cloud services, as most SMBs plan to double their purchase of cloud
applications over the next three years.
The research was presented first to the attendees of Parallels Summit
2012 in Orlando, an event that attracts a global audience comprised of
over 1,500 hosting partners, independent software vendors, industry
analysts and press from across the world. In addition to the release of
Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™, the company shared its future product
road map and next-generation technology, as attendees learned and
networked with Parallels and other industry experts.
Some of Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™ research findings include:
- SMBs continue to lead the adoption of cloud services, as the
U.S. market experienced a 25% increase in 2011, growing to $15.1 billion
USD.
- SMB cloud adoption is a global phenomenon not limited to North
America, as the worldwide SMB cloud market is expected to expand at a
26% CAGR to $68 billion by 2014.
- SMBs with less than 20 employees are at least three times more likely to choose cloud services over on-premise services.
- SMBs are rapidly moving beyond basic web presence, with 45% of
SMBs in the U.S. now managing a Facebook page to promote their business.
- SMBs plan to double the amount of paid cloud applications they
purchase in the next three years, with size of SMB determining which
applications are critical (micro and small SMBs seek apps like backup,
file sharing and accounting and e-mail achieving; while medium
businesses are seeking and phone conferencing services).
“Parallels SMB Cloud Insights research continues to confirm that SMBs
are at the forefront of cloud adoption,” said Birger Steen, CEO of
Parallels. “This research is part of our commitment to service providers
to give them both the expertise and technology they need to address the
quickly-growing market for SMB cloud services.”
Parallels SMB Cloud Insights specifically outlines which hosting,
cloud services and applications have the most current and future appeal
for SMBs across four key categories – Hosted Infrastructure (IaaS), Web
Presence, Communications and Collaboration and Hosted Business
Applications. Parallels research also reveals the market-by-market
demand for value-added hosted applications and services such as online
backup, file sharing, accounting, e-mail archiving and web conferencing.
The new U.S., Global, Brazil and Mexico reports expands the Parallels
SMB Cloud Insights series to fourteen current regional profiles,
including the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Netherlands,
Poland, China, India, Japan and Australia. The existing reports are
available for download at http://www.parallels.com/SMBreport2011, and the four new reports will be available on Parallels Web site beginning on February 17.